A hearing impaired woman from Vryheid in KwaZulu-Natal scooped first place in the South African Sign Language in the 2024 National Senior Certificate (NSC).
Noluthando Mthembu, 21, who completed her matric at KwaThintwa School for the Deaf in Inchanga, said she was overjoyed with her results.
Mthembu plans to study education so that she will be able to teach deaf children.
"I worked hard because I know I'm poor and wanted to change that. I studied hard and did all my work to get a good pass. I want to become a teacher so that I can help more children know about their skills and be able to have a good education.
"My advice to other children is to work hard, study after school and always listen to your teacher and ask for help," said Mthembu.
Dr Mavis Naidoo, principal of KwaThintwa School for the Deaf, said it was a phenomenal achievement.
"The learners do the same curriculum and write the exact same papers as able bodied learners, except for some language papers that are deaf friendly.
"Since 2018 when sign language was rolled out as a subject in the curriculum, the school has had learners in the top three positions nationally and we have maintained a 100% matric pass for the last 12 years," said Naidoo.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE